Injuries force K-State backup WRs into larger roles

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STILLWATER, Okla. — Tyler Lockett has history with Boone Pickens Stadium, and not in a good way.

As a freshman, Lockett suffered a lacerated kidney at the home of the Oklahoma State Cowboys while returning a kickoff late in Kansas State’s loss, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.

Fast forward two years to Saturday’s matchup with the Cowboys, and Kansas State fans had a déjà vu of sorts on a play in the second quarter.

Lockett, a native of Tulsa, Okla., went down with what appeared to be a leg injury in the second quarter trying to run out an overthrown pass. He walked off the field under his own power but didn’t return to the game.

“It sucks,” said Curry Sexton, who led the Wildcats’ receivers with six catches for 43 yards. “That kid works harder than anybody. This is the game he probably looks forward to the most.”

While the game ended similarly to 2011, this time in a 33-29 loss, Sexton said he hopes the injury isn’t season-ending like before.

“It just hurts to see him go down because of the work that he’s put in, the season that he’s had and just the player that he is for us,” Sexton said. “I hope he gets better fast because we’re going to need him down the stretch.”

Lockett’s injury coupled with the absence of Tramaine Thompson — who didn’t play the entire game because of an undisclosed injury — made the Wildcats’ receiving corps and return game a hodgepodge of newcomers and reserves with major role increases.

K-State coach Bill Snyder said he doesn’t know how long Lockett and Thompson will be out.

“We’ll find that out a little bit later,” Snyder said.

“It’s obvious that it was difficult,” Snyder said of replacing the two receivers. “We had a lot of issues with it. We’ll deal with it.”

The assorted collection of wide receivers made plays at times, but not enough to get the win.

“When (Lockett) went down, we kind of rounded up the troops and said, ‘Guys, your time is here, we got to make plays,’’’ Sexton said. “We made plays down the stretch, just didn’t make the one to win the game.”

One of those “troops” forced to step up was Kyle Klein, who caught the first pass of his career — an 11-yard reception on the Wildcats’ first drive of the game. He also caught passes of 11 and 12 yards during K-State’s scoring drive midway through the third quarter.

“I’d say we performed as expected,” Klein said of the wide receivers. “Coach (Andre) Coleman said beforehand, the expectation is the same if you’re the original starter, the backup — it doesn’t really matter. The expectations are the same.”

Torell Miller — predominantly a blocking receiver in the past — rose to the occasion at times, as well. The senior caught four passes in K-State’s opening series of the second half for 35 yards. He capped the drive with a 17-yard touchdown reception from Daniel Sams to put the Wildcats up 21-17.

Miller’s best moment may have been drawing a pass interference on third down in the Cowboys’ end zone to set up Sams’ go-ahead score, which he capped off by making a diving catch for the two-point conversion to put K-State up 29-23 in the fourth quarter.

“As far as an individual, I think I stepped up,” Miller said. “Those are some big shoes to fill, but overall it doesn’t count because we didn’t win.”

Ty Zimmerman, who has returned punts before, manned those duties in place of Lockett and Thompson. The senior returned just one punt for a loss of a yard.

Morgan Burns stepped in for Lockett on kick returns, an area where Lockett was noticeably missed the most. Of the three kicks Burns returned, the Cowboys stopped him behind the Wildcats’ 20-yard line all three times.

“Those are obvious questions with obvious answers,” Snyder said of the challenge to replace Lockett in the return game. “You can see quite easily that it has an impact.”